On September 10, 2026, Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture hosted an advance screening of Paul Greengrass’s new film, The Uprising. After the film was shown, lead actor Andrew Garfield answered questions from Father James J. Martin, S.J. and members of the audience.
Moviegoers, in eager anticipation, head up the escalators to the theater.
In this fast paced film, Ploughman, played by Andrew Garfield, is thrown into the midst of the popular uprising of 1381 after the child King Richard II (Woody Norman) and his council declare an oppressive tax on the common people. In the whirlwind that ensues, Ploughman, alongside priest John Ball (Jamie Bell) and ex-soldier Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), leads thousands of peasants in a march on London to acquire their freedom. After the film was shown, lead actor Andrew Garfield answered questions from Father James J. Martin, S.J. and members of the audience.
The AMC Lincoln Square was packed with Fordham community members excited to see both the film and the star actor. Taking full advantage of the complimentary free snacks, the audience were suitably excited and quickly filed into their seats. Unfortunately, the true history behind The Uprising is treated with too much artistic license for it to be an accurate portrayal of events. With few exceptions, major film producers have colored the Middle Ages as a time consisting of nothing more than blood, mud, and suffering. This movie does not break the trend. From fabricated charters of freedom to the anachronistic deaths of prominent historical figures (most prominently John de Northampton, the mayor of London), The Uprising fits the mold of many medieval themed movies released in recent memory.
Andrew Garfield answering questions in the talkback with Father James J. Martin.
Although the movie has many flaws as a historical piece, Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Ploughman was wonderfully defined by intense emotion and a relatable hesitancy to the violence surrounding him. In the talkback, Garfield and Fr. Martin had an enlightening conversation over the process of filming and the development of Ploughman’s character over the course of the movemaking process. Overall, the film failed to appease the sensibilities of many medievalists in the room, but the evening was saved by Garfield’s performance that shone above the grime of Greengrass’s Middle Ages.
